Inuyasha

Survival of Love

Chapter 9

Enter the Southern Lands

August 24, 2017

Inuyasha was staying a safe distance off to the side of Kagome's group as they made their way south. He was sure they would be entering the Southern Lands before midday these humans were making good time. He stopped suddenly and turned towards a powerful demon making a bee line for him or for the priests and priestesses he wasn't quite sure which but he was intent on stopping them.

Inuyasha watched and waited curiously then an Inu demon he knew very well popped out of the forest and looked up at him. "Himeko." he said as he jumped down in front of her.

"Hello Lord Inuyasha." Himeko said softly with a slight pink tint to her cheeks.

"Come on we've got to keep up with Kagome." Inuyasha said as he jumped back up into the trees to continue following Kagome. "What are you doing here?" he asked curiously as he looked over at her.

"Lord Sesshomaru sent me to the Southern Lands to inform them of Lady Kagome's mission. And to get a report from you on the mission." Himeko said as she kept pace with Inuyasha easily.

"Well they made contact with the enemy four days ago. They've attacked the Eastern Wolf Pack trying to capture their leader Kouga and now they are heading into the South. If you want more details then that it'll have to wait until they stop for the night." Inuyasha said as he paid attention to where he was going. "If you know how to suppress your power please do so." Secretly he was pleased that Sesshomaru had sent Himeko but he wasn't about to show it.

"Right sorry. Showing some of my power keeps lower demons at bay, annoying little things." Himeko said as she closed her eyes for a moment concentrating. When she opened them again her power was almost level with his own now which he was also suppressing.

"It's alright." Inuyasha said as he spared her a quick glance. He was happy she had been the one to come get the report. He knew Sesshomaru would send some one but it had never been discussed as to who he would be meeting with throughout this mission.

"How have you been since you left the castle?" Himeko asked curiously as she glanced over at him.

"Busy finding out information for Kagome on these four pains in the butt." Inuyasha said dismissively as he held up a hand to stop. "Seems they've decided to eat lunch." he said then sat down on the tree branch with his back against the trunk that he had landed on.

"It is about that time." Himeko said as she looked up at the sky curiously seeing it was about midday and most humans eat about now. "We have crossed into the Southern Lands." she said as she sat down as well but she had her feet dangling off one side of the branch watching the way she knew her Lady was.

"Well I guess now is as good as time as any to fill you in on the last couple of days." Inuyasha said as he crossed his arms into the robe of the fire rat.

Himeko looked over at him curiously holding onto the branch with her hands to keep balance as she watched him. "Why not." she said pleasantly.

"Well they found us the first night out of Edo Village. Tested Kagome hiding their members in the forest around her barrier. They were impressed with her so they told her the plan they had in attacking the Eastern Wolves again..." Inuyasha said and was interrupted by Himeko curiously.

"Again... they couldn't take on a weakened pack of wolves." Himeko said with a soft laugh almost dismissively thinking she would have had no trouble with that pack it had been seriously depleted during the Naraku incident.

"Kouga's a fool at times but he's no idiot Himeko. Anyway they had been trying to take him for days but with his pack they couldn't get close to him. So they wanted to recruit Kagome and Miroku to help with some prison thing. While Sango and Kohaku would be used to keep the wolves at bay so they could get the leader Kouga." Inuyasha said as he looked out across the forest. "Kagome had me to go warn Kouga, our friend from fighting Naraku together. We separated the next morning." he said as he looked back over to Himeko.

"They gave Kagome all that info with you sitting there?" Himeko asked shocked as she looked at him curiously.

"They didn't know I was there. I was hidden up in the tree's behind one of Kagome's barriers." Inuyasha said with a small smirk. "Anyway I warned Kouga and he got his wounded, old ones, and pups out of the den going up to their second den in the mountains so that he could use a feint against the enemy. The plan was for him and his able bodied wolves to stand their ground like always then retreat when they saw the enemies increased numbers. It mostly worked." he said as he looked away from her again.

"Mostly?" Himeko asked curiously.

"Kagome nearly gave herself away. She saved Kouga when the enemy used some kind of jewel shooting some kind of light at him. It nearly got him too if Kagome hadn't of shot a charged arrow and timed it perfectly. By the time the light died down the wolves were gone and the leader priest was pissed off. Since then he's barely said anything to Kagome. Actually that was the second time Kagome nearly gave herself away. The first was mentioning that Lord Taka was dead when their leader told her that he was the next target."

"Brazen fool. Going straight after a Lord like that." Himeko said as she stared off into the forest.

"And they know that Sesshomaru is mated to a priestess." Inuyasha said as he looked back over to Himeko wondering what her reaction would be.

Himeko looked over at him shocked that had been jealously guarded secret only the Lords and Ladies of the other lands had been informed. Well other than their own staff and Kagome's friends. 'I guess it was going to get out into the open some time.' she though as she racked her brain wondering when the information had leaked and wondering from who the leak came.

"I wonder how they came across that little tid bit of information being stuck here in the East for so long." Inuyasha said wondering along the same lines as Himeko.

"That is a good question." Himeko said as she thought about it curiously.

"If they were planning on going after Taka then Sesshomaru will definitely be a target. The old priestess doesn't seem to care for any human that mates with a demon so Kagome will definitely be a target once they find out. Hikaru as well Himeko the one called Cho want's them all dead they are an abomination in her eyes." Inuyasha shared with Himeko worried for his friend and nephew.

"I will not let anything happen to them if I can prevent it." Himeko said seriously as she looked back out over the forest determined to keep her Lord, Lady, and Prince safe.

"Well it seems their back on the move again." Inuyasha said as he stood up then looked over at Himeko curiously once again. "You coming or returning to Sesshomaru?"

Himeko thought for a moment as she stood up her heart telling her to stay but her mind telling her that her duty was to get this information back to her Lord but she may be able to get more information tonight. "I'll return to the castle tomorrow." she said after she dusted her self off then looked over at Inuyasha who seemed intrigued by her answer.

"Alright lets go then." Inuyasha said then took off after Kagome's group again.

~*~*~*~ Kagome's Group ~*~*~*~

"Akira we are being followed, they stop when we stop, they moved when we move, going parallel to us." the Priestess Cho said softly as they walked further into the Southern Lands.

"Are they powerful?" Akira asked as he made a sideways glance at her. She had the best senses among his group and he trusted her implicitly. He wasn't sure about the new priestess Kagome how far her powers reached but if she had sensed them then why hadn't she spoken up he wondered.

"One was extremely powerful then the power dropped to match that of the other demon." Cho said as she looked up at Akira. Power suppression was something only the higher levels of demon's could do usually Lords, Ladies, and their most trusted and high ranked servants.

"Very well lets see what they do when we stop for the night. We'll take them then if need be." Akira said softly over to Cho as they continued to walk.

"Their up to something." Kohaku whispered over to Kagome.

"The question is what though." Kagome whispered back. "This is worse than Naraku. At least we knew what he was after. Shards and revenge. What motivates these people?" she wondered softly to the others.

"It seems we will have to get that kind of information from Akira and Cho. They set all this in motion." Miroku said softly over to the others.

"That's right they recruited the other two then us." Sango said joining in on the conversation quietly.

"And how do you plan to get that information out of them?" Kohaku asked plainly glancing around at the others.

"No idea." Kagome said with a shrug.

"We'll just have to watch and wait the information may just present itself to us." Miroku said unfazed by the problem at hand.

They moved along at a steady pace for the next several hours not coming across any demons except those that were following them at a distance. They made camp like usual about an hour before dusk putting up a barrier.

Akira motioned for everyone to gather around him. "We're moving under the protection of a different barrier so everyone stay close." he said then raised a different barrier around them a much smaller one from the first.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked curiously this was definitely out of the ordinary.

"We are checking something." Cho said dismissively as they made their way out of their camp off to the left and then back the way they came.

'Inuyasha and Himeko...' Kagome thought as they made their way directly towards her friends. She glanced over to Miroku who seemed to understand what had dragged the others attention. She put her hands inside her miko robe feigning cold as she grabbed her coin. She put a slight amount of power into it trying to warn her friends of the danger.

They actually walked really close to where Inuyasha and Himeko were talking about life at the castle. Things Rin and Shippou had done with little Hikaru. Things that the two had done to terrorize Jaken which seemed to be their favorite past time now. Sesshomaru doing his normal rounds of his lands and the fact that he was lonely with out his mate around which was to be expected.

"Western Land Dogs."Akira said arrogantly as he dropped the barrier around them. "Spying on us for your Lord are you?" he asked as his people spread out.

Inuyasha and Himeko jumped up startled. Inuyasha catching Kagome's eyes seeing the worry there holding the small coin in her hand just barely visible telling him she had tried to warn him. 'Damn it...' he thought as he felt in his robe that the coin was hot to warn him of a message.

"Awe so quiet now don't let us interrupt your conversation. I'd like to know who the Western Lord mated too and why she is not with him." Akira said as he took a couple of steps forward.

"Yeah well you can just go to hell." Inuyasha said as he pulled Tessaiga from it's sheath letting it transform into his famous fathers fang.

"We'll never tell you anything." Himeko said as she also pulled her sword from it's sheath but it wasn't nearly as impressive as Inuyasha's sword.

"Why is the Western Lord interested in the affairs of the other lands?" Cho asked curiously as she looked at them. "He likes to keep to his own problems. I've never seen him meddle in the affairs of the other lands before." she said curiously as she eyed the two demons.

"His mate most likely. She's a priestess remember. We are her kind the others probably felt she could get info out of us for them." Priestess Kiyoshi said as she looked at the two demons in front of them curiously.

"If you think My Lord takes orders from the other lands you are seriously mistaken." Himeko said as she glared at them all trying not to look at Kagome and the others for long.

"And who are you anyway?" Akira asked curiously as he looked at them. "A full demon and a half breed." he said sort of shocked. Most half demons avoided other demons and humans alike.

"Akira isn't the Western Lords brother a half demon?" the other Priest Hiroshi asked curiously.

"Ah yes that is true. Tell me half demon are you the bastard brother of the Western Demon Lord Sesshomaru?" Akira asked turning his attention to Inuyasha curiously.

"That's none of your concern you arrogant human wretch." Himeko said as she stepped forward threateningly.

"Ooh a demon who protects a worthless half breed what a surprise." Cho said as she glared at the two this was getting tiresome.

"Kagome." Akira said as he continued to stared the two demons down. He was unsure about Kagome she was an unknown to him so he wanted her to prove to him she was worth something.

"Yes?" Kagome asked curiously her eyes locked with Himeko's for the briefest of moments as she tried to use them to tell her to run.

"Lets see if you can do this right. Purify them both." Akira said as he smirked at the worried looks on the two demons in front of him.

Kagome and the others exchanged worried looks between each other for a moment before she pulled an arrow from her case and placing it on her bow string. 'Please Himeko be as fast as I remember during training.' she thought as she pulled back her charged arrow aiming for her mentor.

Himeko gave Kagome an almost in perceptual nod "Lord Inuyasha stay back, after she attacks use your wind scar technique, and be ready to get out of here." she whispered just loud enough for Inuyasha's hearing to pick up.

"Right." Inuyasha whispered back as he watched Kagome interested as to what they had managed to come up with in just a few seconds of a glance.

Kagome released her arrow and pulled a second one intent on showing that she tried for both of them, she pulled back and released again.

Himeko used her sword to cut Kagome's first arrow in half then jumped high into the air. "Now Lord Inuyasha." she said landing back on a tree branch behind him.

"Wind Scar!" Inuyasha yelled as he brought his sword down attacking the priestesses and priests in front of him to create the diversion they needed to escape, destroying the second arrow.

Kagome dived for cover taking Kohaku with her protecting him as she landed behind a nice large grove of tree's just outside of the range of Inuyasha's attack. She looked around and noticed that Miroku and Sango had done the same. She peered around her hiding place and let out a pent up breath Inuyasha and Himeko were gone she could sense them getting farther and farther away fast.

"Everyone alright?" Akira asked curiously as he stepped out of hiding.

"That's a powerful half breed." Cho said as she limped up beside him having cut her leg on a downed tree when she dove for cover herself.

"Are they always that powerful or is that just him?" Kiyoushi asked curiously as she slipped out of hiding as well.

"Just him I'd say. Being a half breed of the demon royal line must have it's perks." Cho said as she glared after the demons. She knew they couldn't keep up with them even if they wanted too.

"But still the question remains, the Priestess mated to the Western Lord where is she?" Hiroshi asked curiously.

'Damn I was hoping Inuyasha would have at least got one of them.' Kagome thought as she came out of her hiding place helping Kohaku up. "Maybe she's doing training of some kind." she said as she dusted herself off without looking at the others.

"I doubt it's a coincidence that those two were here. They were probably trying to figure out how to slip that traitorous woman into out mist." Cho said bitterly as she glanced over at Akira.

'Or maybe she's already here...' Akira thought as he stared at Kagome suspiciously for a few moments. "What do you know of the Western Lands?" he asked curiously.

"Not much. Mainly what I've already told you that a priestess close to the Western Lord killed the Southern Lord. The West and the South just recently got out of a war. The South was vicious from what I heard taking prisoners and killing anyone and everyone that got in their way. The Southern Prince even went after the young ward of the Western Lord during the war. I'd say the South is actually more of a danger." Kagome said as she stood back up from dusting herself off trying to change the subject.

"She has a point Akira the South is Inu Demons as well but they've always been the aggressors from what I've heard. We are in the Southern Lands so I'd say they are the biggest threat at the moment. Especially if those two were the best the West could come up with to infiltrate us." Kiyoushi said with a small laugh at how easily the two demons had been caught off guard.

"Let us return to camp." Akira said as he turned and returned they way they had originally came.